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With today’s competitive landscape changing about as fast as you
can say, “competitive landscape,” leaders need to be able to
adapt, face the unknown and act with certainty in uncertain
situations. Whether it’s the battlefield or the boardroom,
leaders must make decisions quickly to stay relevant and avoid
becoming obsolete.

That said, it also takes awareness to
know when the best time is
to be the right leader in the right setting.

We had a saying in the SEAL Teams whenever we were on target,
“Let the situation dictate.” Allowing circumstances to unfold
without employing any preconceived biases allowed us to both
adapt to the enemy threat in real time and contain chaos rather
than create more.

How do people maintain a presence of mind and think clearly when
the odds say otherwise? Here are four tips for leaders to find
certainty in uncertain situations:

Identify your purpose. When bullets or insults
are flying back and forth, remember the purpose that brought you
here. Purpose provides focus. It offers direction and guides
decision making. A leader’s purpose is the underlying belief
for being and thus answers the
“why the hell am I doing this” question
that seems to arise at the most inopportune times. If your
purpose runs askew or falls into that gray between justice and
injustice, right and wrong, then so do your values and—as well as
those you lead.

Accept and assess. If you can’t change,
influence, or repeat the factors that produced your current
situation, then the only option left is to accept it. Acceptance
offers closure and with closure comes conviction and opportunity.
The first time I got shot (yes, you read that correctly) there
wasn’t much I could do about it except learn from any mistakes.
Of course, I probably didn’t do a good of it since I got shot
again a couple deployments later.

The point is that when situations are obscure or lack clarity,
don’t panic, just accept the circumstance for what it is and
assess ways to overcome it. Consider this: If you’re a leader and
your brand is getting bombarded by the competition, incoming
mortar rounds, or both, then it really doesn’t matter what
direction you move in, just so long as you move.

Have a backup plan. Always have a “go to” in
your back pocket when things go awry—a second, third, and fourth
course of action to call upon when an audible is needed. This
way, you’re always ready to adapt. Doing so allows
you to keep momentum and focus on the “next state” along which
learning opportunities exist, rather than accept a sub-par “end
state” where opportunities surrender.

Of course, there’s a balance here. Too much of any one thing is
just that—too much. Over planning can stifle decision-making and
lead stakeholders to the point of analysis paralysis, where they
“nuke” an idea to the extent that it would actually be easier
to forego the plan altogether—or just go play in traffic. Find
the inflection point where the fear of facing conflict and the
fear of not facing it converge (and stay out of traffic).

Redefine uncertainty.
Just because things get a little chaotic doesn’t mean the zombie
apocalypse has arrived. Believe it or not, uncertainty is
healthy. It reminds leaders of their purpose and passion
for why they lead; it injects abnormality into
an otherwise normal routine and prevents leaders from falling
into Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

The one thing that doubt, indecision, risk aversion, or any
myriad momentum stoppers have in common is that they all serve as
cruxes of choice. They are either a reason to
revert back to what one knows and reclaim
assurance, or a cause to test oneself, grow, and become better. Make the right choice.